#ho chi mihn

[thoughtportal]

René Mederos art in Vietnam

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rene_Mederos

[mourningmaybells]

I figure my vn coding is bad and basic rn but once I’ve encoded the script I can figure out shortcuts to make it run smoother and then draw bgs with sprites and put a 1971-3 best hits instrumentals

[warmonger-82abn]

JOI LUK CLUB, HO CHI MIHN CITY. 2017

[personal-reporter]

Joyce Lussu, una vita per la libertà

Una donna che per tutto il Novecento cercò di vedere il mondo con occhi nuovi… Joyce Lussu nacque come Gioconda Salvadori a Firenze, l’8 maggio 1912, da Giacinta Galletti de Cadilhac figlia e nipote di garibaldini, e Guglielmo Salvadori, docente universitario e primo traduttore del filosofo Herbert Spencer, più volte minacciato dalle camicie nere, poi costretto all’esilio con la famiglia in Svizzera, nel 1924. La giovane Joyce passò l’adolescenza all’estero, in collegi e ambienti cosmopoliti, maturando un forte interesse per la cultura, l’impegno politico e la propensione alla curiosità, al dialogo, ai rapporti sociali. A Heidelberg, mentre seguiva le lezioni del filosofo Karl Jaspers, vide, con allarmata e critica vigilanza, i primi sintomi del nazismo poi visse in Francia e in Portogallo e si laureò in Lettere alla Sorbonne di Parigi e in Filologia a Lisbona. Tra il 1933 e il 1938 si recò più volte in Africa e  l’interesse per la natura e per lo sfruttamento colonialistico di genti e paesi furono, da allora, fortemente legati alla sua scrittura e alla sua vita. A Ginevra Joyce conobbe Emilio Lussu, eroe della Prima Guerra Mondiale, famoso per la fuga dal confino a Lipari insieme a Carlo Rosselli, padre della poetessa Amelia Rosselli. Nel 1934 Joyce sposò un ricco possidente fascista e nell’estate dello stesso anno si trasferì con lui in Kenya dove il fratello Max ha avviato una fattoria, ma l’impresa, come il matrimonio, terminò poco dopo. La Lussu non lasciò l’Africa e visse a Tanganica fino al 1938, viaggiando in diverse parti del paese e  scoprendo da vicino la realtà del colonialismo. Al ritorno dall’Africa fu attiva nel movimento Giustizia e Libertà insieme al fratello e li conobbe nuovamente Emilio, instancabile organizzatore della resistenza degli esiliati. I due non si lasciarono più, vissero in Francia dove si concentra lo sforzo antifascista italiano e si sposarono con una cerimonia civile di fronte a pochi amici. Joyce scrisse poi nel 1939 Liriche, curato da Benedetto Croce, che fu affascinato dalla sua storia. Nel 1940, quando Parigi fu occupata, la coppia fuggì  a Marsiglia da dove organizzarono  partenze clandestine verso gli Stati Uniti e se Emilio si occupava della logistica, Joyce falsificava  documenti. I Lussu poi passarono i Pirenei e raggiunsero Lisbona dove entrarono in contatto con i gruppi di resistenza statunitensi e con la Mazzini Society. In Inghilterra Joyce frequentò un campo di addestramento, dove imparò a usare le armi e le tattiche di guerriglia, poi tornò in Italia subito dopo la caduta di Mussolini e entrò nella lotta partigiana, con il nome di Simonetta. Per la sua militanza raggiunse il grado di Capitana e fu decorata con la medaglia d’argento al valor militare. A liberazione avvenuta, Joyce visse da protagonista i primi passi della Repubblica Italiana e il percorso del Partito D’Azione, fino al suo scioglimento, per poi occuparsi di attività culturali e politiche autonome, insofferente ai vincoli. Con la famiglia andò in Sardegna per visitare il piccolo villaggio di Armungia dove il marito è nato, viaggiò poi a cavallo per ascoltare le storie dei pastori, dei contadini e soprattutto delle donne. Organizzò la partecipazione politica delle donne sarde nel 1951 e nel 1953 contribuì  alla fondazione dell’Unione Donne Italiane. Dal 1958 al 1960, continuando a battersi nel segno del rinnovamento dei valori libertari dell’antifascismo, Joyce spostò il suo orizzonte di riferimento nella direzione delle lotte contro l’imperialismo. La Lussu tra il 1958 e il 1960 si impegnò nella traduzione di poeti albanesi, curdi, eschimesi, come l’angolano Agostinho Nieto, il Diario dal carcere di Ho Chi Mihn e gli afroamericani del black power. Nel 1968 si avvicinò all’ecologismo e prende parte alla lotta delle donne degli anni Settanta,   senza risparmiare le critiche, si interessò alla storia locale, alla questione agraria, alle tradizioni popolari, al sapere femminile. Joyce dedicò una parte fondamentale della sua vita al rapporto con i giovani e le giovani, andando in scuole di ogni ordine e grado, per incontri che incrociavano percorsi di storia, poesia, autobiografia, progettualità sociale fino alla scomparsa, avvenuta a Roma il 4 novembre 1998. Read the full article

[robfactory]

[fantasmicly]

Ho Chi Mihn City, Vietnam, linoblock print (at Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam) https://www.instagram.com/p/BttzOC8lhrg/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=4pcgnatzjjfn

[weservethemountain]

Stalin, Mao, Hitler I think all top him.

And the worst part of this is Ho Chi Mihn was a US ally during World War 2.

For those wondering why their dash is suddenly crab raves

[sorayaadventures-blog]

Saigon’s Sultry Lively Streets

Change of profession! I became a snake charmer in Vietnam… or the snake was charming me? Either way, it was an adventure. But, don’t tell my mom because she has a huge fear of snakes!

Formerly known as Saigon, Ho Chi Minh City was once the capital of a French colony and of the independent republic of South Vietnam. As the largest city in Vietnam (with a population of over 8 million), I found the streets of this hot and humid city filled with street vendors, people, bicycles, cars and endless motorbikes. Some of the worn-out motorbikes would carry as many as 5 people on it – mother, father, two children and a baby! Impressive and shocking!

After settling into my hotel, the Nothern Hotel, I set out to explore the city and quickly noticed how much I stood out. I was one of the very few Westerners wandering the streets and I looked funny trying to dodge the motorbikes that would cruise along the sidewalks as if they were streets too. Speaking with the locals was certainly a challenge as English was not widely spoken, which made my exploration of the surroundings all that more interesting and challenging! 

Somehow, I found my way back to the hotel and made my first friend of the trip. It was an older guy who told me about the cooking class he signed up for. I was intrigued so I signed up too! Vietnamese food was one of my biggest draw to this exotic country. 

The next day, I showed up at the cutest cooking school, called Grain, ready to whip it up.

The teacher, David, made me look way better than I’m used to in the kitchen: we prepared delectable pumpkin flowers filled with prawns,

a refreshing chicken salad paired with a glass of white wine,

and steamed seabass in a banana leaf.

A self-proclaimed dessert fiend, the next step was crucial - dessert consisted of a delicious coconut flan and coffee sweetened up with condensed milk. (Fun fact: Vietnam is the 2nd largest exporter of coffee world-wide). Looking back, David’s cooking class at Grain was by far my favorite activity in Ho Chi Minh. Even if you do not squeeze a cooking class into your schedule, don’t hesitate to hit up one of the food markets or one the city’s many fine restaurants where you take in the delicious fresh scents of mint, cilantro, lemongrass, bird’s eye chili, ginger, lime, and basil. 

After the fun Grain cooking class, the next portion of my Vietnam trip consisted of a very serious history lesson, especially for an American. On separate days, I visited the War Remnants Museum and the haunting Cu Chi Tunnels used by the Viet-Cong in the 1960’s. If you’re a history buff, make these part of your itinerary.  

During my visit of the War Remnants Museum, there were 2 images that struck a chord and left a lasting impression on me. First, is the photograph below where you see a smiling young girl holding her father’s hand through a cage-like enclosure. During the war, this 21-year-old girl was contaminated by Agent Orange, condemning her to a life behind these bars; the devastating consequences of Agent Orange caused a deformity, which makes her chew and swallow anything within her grasp. This was just one of many shattering images displayed along the museum’s walls.

As a big believer of the motto “make love not war,” it is always hard for me to imagine what could possibly land countries in a situation with such unnecessary losses of sacred lives. From the simple chart below, I quickly learned how drastic the effects of the Vietnam War was on this small country; compared to the Korean War for example, the Vietnam War ended with almost double the amount of deaths, 3 times the amount of wounded people, and expended over 5 times the amount of bombs and artillery shells. 

After taking in the damaging aspects of Vietnam’s recent war history, I headed to Can Tho (the 2nd largest city in South Vietnam) to drift through the city’s floating markets. There, I found, mud-colored rivers decorated with shabby wooden boats that were full of tasty local fruits and vegetables.

Happy to partake in a lighter activity than the day before, I enjoyed observing the hard-working Vietnamese ladies and men, in their adorable triangle straw hats, as they whisked by us tourists in hopes of making a big sale.

To wrap up… although I found it challenging to get around the country because of the transportation difficulties (as Vietnam’s infrastructure still has a long way to go), to meet locals (due to the language barrier) and the 2 cities I chose to visit aren’t particularly known for being pretty to look at, I applaud Vietnam’s fresh cuisine and am now an even bigger fan of their food. When I get the chance to return, I will take the opportunity to explore the country’s more traditional beautiful cities and areas, such as Hanoi, Hoi An and Ha Long Bay.

Next week, I take you over to the unforgettable land of temples... 

[dontanthropologize-blog]

PROGRESS

[that-dumb-moth]

Do you not understand that most jobs take time to do? It's rare that anybody has time to work for subsistence while pursuing a creative passion. Most of the time, when I see an artist, they're either already rich or they rely on somebody else to be the breadwinner. To remove copyright protection for their works will just be cruel, as we'll find already established creators exploit less popular creator's works for profit. And there's no legal method to fix it as copyright law does not exist.

Maybe you just don't understand art... maybe this is like preaching net neutrality to the North Sentinelese. You view creativity as a resource, not a personality. You're an out of touch fool and there's no doubting it.

Also, about that Hitler thing... it's an allegory you douche. Hitler provided land and jobs to his people, but that doesn't matter because the means with which he did so were barbaric and deranged, seeing to millions of deaths and years of fiery turmoil. The atrocities committed are sickeningly cartoonish with babies being used as target practess, and for what? The power hungry dreams of an Austrian bastard. The idea that anybody, in their right mind, would genuinely support Hitler or any similar dictator (ahem ahem, Stalin, ahem ahem, Ho Chi Mihn, ahem ahem, Truman, ahem ahem, Mao Zedong, ahem ahem)

[person who clearly thinks they are making a really awesome burn that makes them look good voice] at least nazis believe in copyright law

[thethirdbear]

[tactilewhispering]

Rin Wedding Studio, Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam DISTRICT 1, 2018

[wttestates]

Chill Box, Ho Chi Minh City

Details│Room Types│Guest Reviews│Find Best Rates│Reservation│Click Here

[gaiazuffa]

[vantovan-blog1]

A beginning

Well, here we go, better late than never? This is a blog to get some of the experiences Tash and I have had and will have this year as we travel Australia and the world to find family, friends and fun, ending up in Vancouver where we plan to stay for a while before we head back to Melbourne, our home city, when it feels right. 

Our instagram account (@van.to.van for those playing along at home) has captured a lot of the best moments, but it's time to get some words down too. It's been just over three months since we set off from Melbourne. 

Leaving was harder than we anticipated. We found it tough to say farewell to our house, having only been in it for a year, to friendships that were really solidifying, and to family and familiar faces and places. It was an emotionally, mentally and physically tiring couple of months leading up to departure - there is a lot to organise when you upturn a settled existence - but we got there in the end and drove away from Melbourne excited, nervous and a little uncertain about what was ahead of us.

Australian road trip

Life in the van was amazing. It's a cliche, but it's remarkable how simple life becomes (temporarily at least) once you've pared down your possessions to the essentials. Fewer things in front of your face means less to think and worry about, and we quickly fell in love with the lifestyle, where the principal concerns are what you will eat for the day and where you will park the van for the night.

Our road trip took us almost all the way up the east coast to Port Douglas, a small tourist town north of Cairns, then cross country to meet the Stuart highway, down through Alice Springs to Adelaide, then back home via a few wineries in the Mclaren Vale, Barossa and Clare Valley regions.

It's difficult to pinpoint highlights as there really were so many; this trip gave us both a newfound appreciation for the beauty and variety of Australia, and as is often the case when you travel, the journey itself was as good and sometimes better than a lot of the destinations. I will, however, pick out a few.

We rushed through it more than we should have, and really want to go back again, but the section of coast between Sydney and Brisbane was spectacular. Some of the best beaches we have come across anywhere in the world are in that region. We stayed with friends in both Sydney and Brisbane who generously hosted us and put up with our larger than normal car.

There were some pretty amazing beaches above Brisbane as well, a highlight for us being the Agnes Water/1770 region, where we stayed in a bush camp right above a surf beach. Magic. Another highlight was Magnetic Island, just off the Townsville coast, where we spent a few days with some family friends Ric and Candy in their oasis of a home. A beautiful house at the end of a cul de sac right below a cliff, complete with decor from PNG and a dip pool, all accented with colourful lead light lamps and wall art made by Candy. They were very lovely hosts as well, which made it a very special few days. 

Above Townsville we ran into bad weather and didn’t get to see the best that the Cairns and Whitsundays regions had to offer, but still got a good day on Whitehaven beach (Whitsunday Islands) and out on the Great Barrier Reef. It was nice to see it while it is still there; who knows how much longer it will be alive. I tried diving for the first time and had a ball. 

We got rained out in Port Douglas and spent a solid two days in the van in a caravan park as landslips had closed the roads in and out of the place. That was testing, and we got very bored at times. Thanks to our good friend Pat Fountain who we stayed with in Brisbane, we had a fan to keep the insane humidity at bay. At times, it was intolerably hot and muggy. Combined with the inability to move from the car, we went a bit crazy in Port Douglas.

Once the rain cleared we schlepped across Queensland and half of the Northern Territory to the Stuart Highway, taking the long route as flooding had closed the main highway. Long stretches of road were at times very fun and at times intensely boring. We listened to a lot of true crime podcasts and audiobooks. There was also a fair share of silly dancing to loud music, something I hope we will never stop doing. The heat up north is something else in March and we were very grateful for the quality air conditioning in our van, Sheila. 

We stayed with a friend in Alice Springs who took us on a tour of the West Macdonnell ranges just outside town, exploring water holes and canyons. We also spent a good chunk of our time in Alice Springs watching Ru Paul’s Drag Race; an American reality show about drag queens I hadn’t watched previously but now love. A lasting memory of Alice Springs this time will be the flies, they were awful. Not awful enough to ruin the experience, but enough to leave an impression!

After Alice, we took a few days to get down to Adelaide (via Uluru), covering big distances across the NT and SA deserts, which are vast. They are beautiful in their own way and we came to love the landscape. In Adelaide we stayed with friends of a friend and had a couple of lovely days and nights out in a city we fell in love with. It has to be the most underrated city in the country and we want to go back for the fringe festival sometime. We used the opportunity to taste some excellent wines in the regions around Adelaide and had a couple of nights on the coast south of the city. A fantastic section of Australia. 

We stopped for a night in Ararat with a friend to break up the drive home, having a quick look at the new build he is project managing and were back in Melbourne just before the end of April. 

Another massive highlight of these two months was the three weddings we attended, two of which we flew back from Townsville then Alice Springs for. They were all wonderful and we felt very lucky to have such great friends around us and to be invited to such beautiful events. The first was for Simon and Bec (Simon is Tash’s old boss at Isobar). Theirs was at Emu Bottom Estate just outside Sunbury in Melbourne. The next was Tom and Hannah, good friends and neighbours of ours, who got married at Wye River where Hannah’s mum owns a house. The last was Andrew and David (I work with Andrew) who got married at Mt Ophir Estate near Rutherglen in the Indigo Valley, Victoria. 

South East Asia

This leg kicked off with a bit of minimoon crashing, as we joined forces with Tom and Hannah of above wedding fame for a beach/poolside holiday in Bali, split between Canggu and Uluwatu. This mostly consisted of chilling at the private villa we had in Canggu (outrageous I know), eating great food, drinking too much and reading lots. It was particularly nice to explore Uluwatu a bit, where Tash lived for a few months in 2014. Spending time in the beach clubs (the Lawn Club and Ulu Cliffhouse) also deserves a mention; it’s amazing what you get for your money in Bali. Only lowlight of this trip was Hannah coming off a scooter and badly hurting her leg, though this turned into a highlight when they got to the airport as she got ushered through check in and security in a wheelchair. Win. 

Next stop was Vietnam for a couple of weeks. We flew into Ho Chi Minh City to hang out with old friends and colleagues of mine from when I lived there back in 2006 and to explore old haunts. It was great to see the school I taught at again and spend lots of time with my good friend Mr Huy. We had dinner at his family’s house one night which was fantastic. Tash was unwell for much of our time in Ho Chi Minh which was disappointing, but otherwise it was a good time. It was also fun to get back into speaking Vietnamese, which I can speak conversationally, and which came in handy when getting around outside the tourist districts. 

We then spent a few days in Hoi An, where we surprised one of our neighbours from Flemington, Mara, for her 40th birthday. This was great fun, particularly the day we all dressed in matching fruit salad print threads and went out for lunch. Mara and her husband Petro have three adorable boys aged 7, 9 and 11 who were great to have around, and the whole thing was made possible by the two socialites of our street, Mark and Adrian, who are a bunch of fun to be with. Being with our neighbours made us miss home a bit and solidified both Tash and my love of our neighbourhood. 

Next was Hanoi for a night then up into the mountain town of Ha Giang on a sleeper bus to do a five day motorbike tour of the hills near the Chinese border, something I did with a uni friend back in 2011. The scenery in the mountains is spectacular, and seeing it from a motorbike is definitely the best way to do it. We ate fantastic local food, feasting every night in homestays. The only downside of this part of the trip was doing it with a guide, which seemed unnecessary. When I did it seven years ago, we didn’t see any tourists on bikes and didn’t even consider the possibility of doing it solo, but this time there were a lot, most doing it without assistance, which made us feel a bit silly for spending money on the guide when we could have done it ourselves. It was nice not to have to deal with the bike breaking down though, which it did, three times. 

We had one more night in Hanoi after the tour then spent five days in Bangkok with my uncle, who owns an apartment near Sukhumvit where he spends a few months of the year escaping winter and learning Thai. It was lovely to spend some time wiith him, poking around the local streets and riding the Klong (river canal) boats. A highlight was a night out at Blue Elephant restaurant, a Michelin guide restaurant, for a fancy many course meal with matched Thai wines.

Serbia volume I and Bosnia

We arrived in Serbia on 2 June where we will be spending about a month, collectively, in Novi Sad, the city where Tash’s dad’s family live. We are staying with her aunt and uncle in their house with a huge vegetable garden that spits out flavourful tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, lettuce and all kinds of fruits and berries. These are fantastic complements to what is otherwise a very carb and meat heavy (and endlessly delicious) diet. Tash’s aunt is the best cook in Serbia in my humble opinion.

We have spent a lot of time hanging out with family, drinking coffees, rakija (brandy) and beers in the back yard, and doing a bit of gardening when the time is right. We have done a few trips into the city to explore and shop, and been for long training walks (for the West Highland Way walk we are doing in Scotland in August) and bike rides. We have also had a couple of days at the Strand, a beach on the Danube river where there are lounges, bars and loud music playing all day. Fantastic people watching and a great way to spend a sunny day.

We recently had five days with Tash’s mum’s side of the family in Banja Luka, the second largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in one of the Serbian controlled regions. I have been brushing up on my history a little, learning about how complex the politics and consequent wars were in its region of the world in the 1990s. There is just nothing good that seems to come from war. It is striking how recent it was and to notice some of the cultural, physical and emotional scars that still remain.

This week, there is an international wine festival on in Novi Sad, which we will imbibe in, then we have a family friend’s apartment booked in the city centre for the weekend. Next week we are taking Tash’s aunt white water rafting, then the week after that we are off to Greece for a couple of weeks. Tough life...

[moodboardmix]

07BEACH, “BAKE”, Hồ Chí Mihn, Vietnam